Several major destinations will fling open their doors for international visitors next week, including the Bahamas, Cuba and Bermuda. I also have news on Canada Day sales from WestJet and Air Canada, plus a new requirement for guests to wear masks in public at MGM Resorts in the U.S. There’s also a new set of great trips in Canada offered by Transat and Fresh Tracks Canada, and a note on further suspensions of tours by G Adventures. My Future of Travel blog for June 26, 2020 A Big Week For Re-Openings The U.S. is a mess right now, and most Read more

Haven’t had time to post one of my Future of Travel blogs today as I’m up in Muskoka. Here’s a previous Muskoka post from a trip I thoroughly enjoyed in 2017. BAYSVILLE/HUNTSVILLE/DORSET – A well-equipped cottage with a hot tub on the patio and lovely lake views. A romantic boat ride on one of Ontario’s prettiest lakes. Not to mention a wonderful canoe trip along the Muskoka River, great food, tasty craft beer and welcoming locals. The Huntsville-Baysville-Dorset triangle is a fabulous part of Ontario, with just about everything you could ask for in a vacation getaway. I hadn’t been Read more

Europe appears to be slamming the door on Americans who’d like to visit this summer. But what about Canadians? I take a look at that issue, as well as a predicted slow rebound for California tourism and a further suspension of cruises by Royal Caribbean. Also, a nod to Quebec and Francophone Canadians on Saint-Jean-Baptiste/Fete nationale du Quebec Day. European Travel This Summer: Can Canadians Go? TravelPulse Canada, where I work as senior editorial director, has a story out today about how European Union countries appear to be banning U.S. residents from visiting any time soon. I wrote in this Read more

Toronto moves to stage two of its COVID-19 recovery plan tomorrow, while the city’s main airport has introduced a new health and safety plan. New York City moved to stage two on Monday, and Chicago is moving to stage four on Friday. I also look at American and Quebec travel attitudes and the top 10 small cities in the U.S. Stage Two for Toronto: At Last! One of Canada’s most popular cities for tourists (and my place of abode) is beginning to waken from its long slumber. After some three months of lockdown, Toronto restaurants with patios are allowed to Read more

With tourism lagging badly, Europe wants more visitors. I’ve also got news about a VRBO list on where Americans are heading for the Fourth of July weekend, new funding for tourism in Alberta and cruise news from Carnival and MSC Cruises. Trudeau: Border Loosening Not Likely Soon Canadian travel and tourism leaders have been lobbying hard for a loosening of Canada’s borders to allow more international visitors. They also want fewer restrictions on intra-provincial travel. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen soon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today said the federal government has to “look very carefully” at Read more

Taking a tour of Stanley Park with a local First Nations’ guide from Talaysay Tours is a marvellous way to learn about the history of the area and its people. This is a story I wrote a few months ago for the Postmedia travel site and am re-posting here on National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. VANCOUVER – Wes Nahanee and I are traipsing about Stanley Park in Vancouver on as fine an autumn day as one can legally imagine. Nahanee works with a group called Talaysay Tours, a First Nations-owned company that leads tours in British Columbia and explains the way Read more